Gerald Gardner: Biography of This British Writer and Occultist

At the beginning of the 20th century, and with the First World War in the background and the anxiety that this event implied for Europe, the population began to look for answers in other places; answers that the “official” religion (that is, Christianity) could no longer give them. It is in this context of search and spiritual renewal where Gerald Gardner, the “founder” of Wicca, the most famous neopagan religion, must be inscribed.

Although it is true that this search began in the 19th century (when spiritualism was all the rage among people), it was in the 20th century that these new religions began to proliferate, commonly called “neo-pagan” because they take their ideas from the old ones. religious traditions prior to Christianity. Gerald Gardner, British writer, amateur anthropologist and occultist, who was in a constant search for a spiritual answer, was one of the first to give this population thirsty for (another) faith a new religion in which to feel safe and secure. Today we talk to you about this unique character.

Brief biography of Gerald Gardner, British writer and occultist

In reality, Wicca has its origins beyond Gerald Gardner, but this unique character was the one who promoted this new faith and made it tremendously popular, in part thanks to his television appearances and his writings, among which The Meaning of Witchcraft (The Meaning of Witchcraft), published in 1959.

And Wicca takes its precepts from ancient European witchcraft. which, supposedly (and according to the claims of Gardner and archaeologist Margaret Murray, among others) would have rescued those very ancient pagan principles for which witches were persecuted during the modern era.

Childhood in England, youth and maturity in Asia

Gerald Gardner was born in June 1884, into a wealthy English family who, as was usual in these families, provided him with a nanny. Little Gerald suffered from severe asthma, a fact that caused him to move with his caregiver to Asia, in search of a warmer climate.

And there it remained; A young Gerald dedicated himself to the rubber plantations in Borneo and Malaysia and, along the way, became absolutely fascinated with the rituals of the native population. He was especially struck by the healing of the sick through incantations, shamanic rites that deeply fascinated this young Gardner and that would never leave his soul.

In 1936, Gerald returned to his native England. He is fifty-two years old and no longer young, but the idea of ​​shamanism and magic is still intact in his mind. According to his own statements, around 1939 he was initiated into the tradition of English witchcraft, the starting point of what would later become the new Wicca.

Old English witchcraft

The previous year, 1938, Gardner had purchased a house in the New Forest in which to retire. Precisely in this new home he promoted nudism, of which he was especially fond. His acquaintances met at his New Forest house and, all naked, participated in various events and activities, to the scandal of the neighbors.

The nakedness of the body allowed, according to him, to be more in contact with nature, a capital piece of his new beliefs. On the other hand, one night in 1939 he witnessed an ancient magic ritual that deeply fascinated him, where, apparently, Wica was mentioned for the first time (albeit with a single c). With all these pieces (plus a few more, such as, for example, Charles Godfrey’s book Aradia or the Gospel of the Witches, published in 1899) Gardner “designed” a new religion, based on these ancient mysteries which gave special emphasis to sacred contact with nature.

Specifically, Gardner’s Wicca claimed that this ancient English witchcraft was nothing more than ancient pagan (and therefore pre-Christian) rituals of wise women linked to nature and the transition of life and death, and that therefore They were persecuted by the official Church.

This theory, known as “the witch cult hypothesis,” is currently rejected by most experts, who call it “pseudohistorical.”

According to this theory (which was supported at the time by an archaeologist, the aforementioned Margaret Murray, and by other prestigious historians, such as Jules Michelet), The historical persecution of witches in Europe would have been nothing more than an attempt by the Church to “cover up” this ancient pagan religion. , who would have nevertheless survived this persecution. This supposedly ancient pre-Christian religion would have worshiped a horned god of fertility, which Christian leaders would have identified with the devil to discredit him.

Expansion of Wicca, modern witchcraft

In the 1950s, Gerald Gardner’s main publications appeared: Witchcraft Today, from 1954, and the aforementioned The Meaning of Witchcraft, from 1959. It was during this time that Wicca, this neo-pagan religion, began to emerge.

However, it is wrong to consider Gardner as the sole and absolute founder of this current, since, as we have already seen, he himself was supposedly initiated by practicing witches. In these early works, Gardner mentions the name of the religion with a single c, Wica, as it apparently was said in the past.

Etymologically, Wicca either wica comes from old english wiccawhich would mean witch (in masculine). The equivalent form for the feminine would be wicce; In any case, the modern wizard and witch are derived from both words.

There are many criticisms that Gerald Gardner has received; among them, the accusation of having “come up with” a new religion simply to raise money and pay his (numerous) debts. The reality is that this was a completely unique character, as was his death: in 1964, Gardner was sailing and suffered a devastating heart attack. When the ship was found on the coast of Tunisia, he was buried there.

For posterity there remains the resurrection of a supposedly ancient pagan religion, whose main foundation is the mystical contact with nature and its sacred force. As Gardner himself said, invisible powers exist and can be called upon for our benefit, as the men and women of the Stone Age believed and as many human beings unconsciously believe today.